Choreographer to spend six weeks preparing final version of new ballet for October premiere

The Tony and Emmy award-winning choreographer arrived in Winnipeg and began working on the Labour Day weekend. She will be in residence at Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet for the next six weeks while she prepares the final version and Canadian Premiere of RWB’s 2012/13 season opener, The Princess & The Goblin.

Tharp has made significant revisions to the production and Winnipeg audiences will see a new and finalized version of The Princess & The Goblin during its run at the Centennial Concert Hall from October 17-21, 2012.

“I’m very excited to be in Winnipeg again. We’ve already started running full days of rehearsals, and I’m impressed with the RWB dancers.” said Tharp.

The ballet, which is based on the Victorian children’s fantasy novel of the same name by Scottish author George MacDonald, has been adjusted by Tharp to make the central character and heroine princess Irene. The ballet follows Princess Irene on a courageous quest to save the town’s children from the goblin and their “underworld” kingdom.

Playing the role of Princess Irene will be celebrated American Ballet Theatre (ABT) Principal Dancer Paloma Herrera, who arrived in Winnipeg and began working in studio this week. Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Herrera trained at Minsk Ballet School, the English National Ballet in London and at the School of American Ballet in New York City. A fast-rising star early in her career, Herrara joined ABT as a Corps de Ballet member in 1991, then four years later at age 19, she became the youngest principal dancer in ABT history.

Herrera has danced numerous high-profile lead roles both with ABT and around the globe with such internationally-acclaimed ballet companies as the New York City Ballet, the Kirov Ballet, Ballet Teatro Alla Scala of Milan, Kremlin Palace Ballet and the Bolshoi Ballet. Additionally, Herrera has had many famous choreographers create leading roles for her including three previous works by Tharp at ABT.

Tony Award-nominated dancer and choreographer John Selya will also be featured as a guest artist in The Princess & The Goblin in the role of King Papa, Princess Irene’s father. Selya is a regular fixture on the Broadway stage, most recently appearing in Guys and Dolls and in all of Tharp’s recent musicals including; Movin’ Out, The Times They Are A-Changin’ and Come Fly Away. Selya has previously been awarded the TDF/Astaire Award for Best Male Dancer in a Musical and a Theatre World Award. Selya trained at the School of American Ballet and danced with the American Ballet Theatre before joining Twyla Tharp Dance in 2000. Selya has been in the premiere cast of 19 prior Tharp works.

“RWB has a history of bringing in guest artists for our productions. It is always exciting for the Company and for the dancers because it always brings forward new possibilities,” said RWB Artistic Director André Lewis. “For us to be able to attract high-calibre artists like Paloma and John I believe speaks volumes about our international reputation and the quality of our Company.”

Tickets for The Princess & The Goblin range from $29.00 to $105.00 and are available now through the RWB Customer Service Office at 380 Graham Avenue (Mon-Fri, 10 am – 5 pm), by calling 204-956-2792 or 1-800-667-4792 toll free, or online.Groups of ten or more should contact the RWB Groups Manager at 204-957-3494 or email groups@rwb.org to save up to 20% on great seats.

Subscriptions for the 2012/13 Season are still available through the RWB Customer Service Office by calling (204) 956-2792. In addition to The Princess & The Goblin, RWB’s 2012-13 Fairy Tale Fantasy Season includes, Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, andMoulin Rouge ® – The Ballet. Subscribers save up to 20 per cent over single ticket prices and access to priority seating for all performances, including The Princess & The Goblin.